03/08/06: Steve Chinn show and auction tonight!
Tonight! It's a benefit for Steve Chinn, ex-AT shirt printer & ex-member of SOSA, FANG, BOOM AND THE LEGION OF DOOM, and more! There will be an auction between bands, including 3 Alternative Tentacles music and dvd packages!

Don't forget to bring checkbook and/or extra cash for the auction! Check out the flyer here. You can keep up to date on his progress here, and you can make a donation towards his medical costs here.

03/07/06: This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb student free!
After a ton of pressure from across the country, the Ohio University police dropped the charge against the grad student whose bike was destroyed by overzealous police who saw a sticker for the d.i.y. punk band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb on his bicycle. More information is in this Punk News article.

In a reply to an e-mail we sent to the Dean of Students, he wrote:"I appreciate your concern about this case, but you are mistaken as to my role in it. The Associated Press article on this story is misleading in one particular way. My comment was made Thursday (before any charges had been filed; the charge was filed Friday) and was in response to a question about whether I thought the police had acted reasonably in being concerned about the bike. I agree that we could debate this point as well, but, nonetheless, the article makes it sound (incorrectly) like my comment was supporting the decision to file charges. This decision was made by police in consultation with the prosecutor. I had no involvement in the decision to file a charge.

In any case, an agreement has been reached today to drop the charge against Patrick." [the grad student with the bike]

03/04/06: This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb sticker scare = jail?
In a case of brainless authorities making an embarassing situation for themselves worse for the victim of their over-reaction and fear-mongering, the grad student who's bike had a sticker for the d.i.y. Plan-it-X band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb is being charged for 'inducing panic.' This is obviously absolutely ridiculous and wrong-headed, and hopefully will be quickly reversed.

ATHENS, Ohio - A graduate student was charged with inducing panic in a bomb scare at Ohio University over a sticker on a bicycle that read "this bike is a pipe bomb," which authorities figured out was the name of a punk rock band.
Four buildings on campus were shut down Thursday, streets were blocked off and a bomb squad was summoned from Columbus after a member of the university police force noticed the Patrick K. Hanlin's bike chained outside an on-campus restaurant about 5:30 a.m. The bomb experts destroyed the bike to find no bomb inside.
University police charged Hanlin, 28, on Thursday after he came forward as the biker's owner, OU spokesman Jack Jeffery said. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail.
Dean of Students Terry Hogan said authorities responded to the sticker appropriately. "This is one of these circumstances where, in these times, these are the kinds of incidents that cause all of us to take pause, and I think we have to be concerned," he said."

03/03/06: Arundhati Roy on George W. Bush in India
AT spoken word artist/author Arundhati Roy appears on today's episode of Democracy Now, talking about US President George W. Bush's current visit to India and Pakistan! Dig in and learn about the thousands of people protesting the US President on the streets of New Delhi, Bombay, and elsewhere in India.

03/02/06: Metal Urbain playing twice in San Francisco this weekend!
Metal Urbain, famed French punk/electronic pioneers, will be playing two shows in San Francisco before heading back to France. They are wrapping up their recording of their new Alternative Tentacles release with co-producer Jello Biafra now!

Saturday 3/4 is with the always crazy Japanese electro-Devo-punk masters/mistresses Polysics!

The show is at the Cafe Du Nord on Market Street near the Castro in San Francisco. Also playing is Los Abandoned from Los Angeles.

Sunday 3/5 is with A Kiss Could Be Deadly and Miraflores at the brand new Annie's Social Club at 5th and Folsom! This bar used to be the Cherry Bar, and before that the Covered Wagon (a.k.a. the CW Saloon).

These 2 shows are a rare chance to see these 1977 French punk/electronic/??? masters in the US. Don't miss either of these historic shows!

03/01/06: Signed Michael Parenti books!
We have 10 signed copies of Michael Parenti's brand new book The Culture Struggle for sale under "Books"- once we sell through these 10 we'll have the regular, unsigned version available. If you want to get a book or the new Alternative Tentacles Michael Parenti "Rulers Of The Planet" dvd/cd signed by him in person, check out the Tour Date Page.

02/14/06: Norman Finkelstein on Democracy Now!
"Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami Debates Outspoken Professor Norman Finkelstein on Israel, the Palestinians, and the Peace Process
What happens when a former Israeli Foreign Minister debates a scholar known as one of the world's foremost critics of Israeli policy? The answer is not what you may expect. We spend the hour with Shlomo Ben Ami, author of "Scars of War, Wounds of Peace," and Norman Finkelstein, author of "Beyond Chutzpah". They joined us in our firehouse studio for a wide-ranging exchange. We discussed the origins of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, to the Oslo Peace Process, right up to the present."

You can read the transcript or listen on-line to the 2/14/06 episode of Democracy Now for free!

02/05/06: DOA Rocks Sundance!!!
Canada's punk rock legends D.O.A. have just returned from witnessing themselves in the new documentary about punk called "American Hardcore." They also put on an obviously earth-shatteringly awesome show at the Sundance Film Festival while chilling in the warm Utah sun. D.O.A. and the incomparable Circle Jerks blew the roof off the Star Club in Park City, Utah at Sundance, one of the world's most prestigious film festivals. The film is only partially based on the flawed "American Hardcore" book, and apparently corrects a lot of the inconsistencies of the print version by allowing the participants in the 1980s US punk scene to speak for themselves, including Joey Shithead, Ian MacKaye, Keith Morris, Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins, and more!

From Barfly:"Pig Champion" Roberts, guitarist for Poison Idea, died at his home in Portland, Oregon, Monday night [January 30, 2006]. A founding member of the seminal punk band, he continued to appear with Poison Idea throughout the late nineties and into the new millennium, despite officially quitting the band in 1993. Variously described as "spectacularly fat", and "the single largest man in hardcore history", Roberts crowned himself "Pig Champion" after hitting an impressive 450 lbs. on the scales. The highly regarded guitarist was revered by a devoted following worldwide. Fans and friends alike will feel the loss keenly."

From Joann Rawkmom, on the RKL official message board on 2/1/06:
" Jason Sears, singer for RKL, Santa Barbara local, father, skater, punk @#%$, died today battling his illness. It has been a hard year for 805 crew 3 RKL members in less than a year is a huge loss. I knew each and everyone one of them... each had touched my life in many ways over the last 20 years... When I moved to Santa Barbara in August 1987 Jason made me feel right at home. To watch all three of these people rise and fall over the last 20 years has been a beautiful and tragic expericence."[Bomber/RKL passed away 12/5/05 and Derrick Plourde/RKL passed away in 3/30/05]

02/02/06: Jack Control stabbed, help him out!
Bad news from our friend Ken at Prank Records follows, but there's hopeful news about how to help out at the end. Please pitch in!

"Jack Control, lead vocalist of hardcore punk bands Severed Head of State and World Burns to Death, Long time force in the Texas Punk Scene and behind Mind Control Records, was stabbed and seriously wounded in an altercation at a show in Austin, Texas on Saturday January 28th.

There was a large show on the North Loop in Austin-An earlier show at a Record Store had featured J-Church, Army of Jesus and Storm The Tower and a later show was with Manikin at the Pizza Parlor a few doors down. At the end of the night some random trainhopper kids got rowdy. One guy went on a rampage and kicked in the glass doors of the venue, and then tried to kick in the windows of the anarchist bookstore next door and windows of cars parked on the street. When confronted by the people running the show, including members of World Burns to Death and Signal Lost, a big mess of a brawl broke out. Jack stepped in to stop a guy from hitting Jasmine from Signal Lost and one of the trainhoppers came from behind and stabbed jack in the gut just below the ribs.

Jack's wounds required over three hours of surgery and he lost 4 pints of blood. Jack has stabilized and will recover, but is still in ICU at Brackenridge hospital. The person who stabbed Jack (who goes by the name of "Bingo") fled, but was arrested nearby. He is currently in police custody and being charged for attempted murder.

Jack has no medical insurance and will face a monolithic amount of medical and legal bills, as well as missed time from work as a result of this. A pay pal account has been established at timmythetexasturd@gmail.com for anyone willing to donate funds to help Jack with his expenses.

People wishing to run charity Auctions on Auction sites such as Ebay, Yahoo or DIY auction to raise pay pal funds for Jack please put "Jack Control" in the item title and description. People wanting to buy benefit items can search for them by putting "Jack Control" in the search box. A benefit show will be held in Austin on February 9th at Emo's 603 Red River with Signal Lost, Camp X-Ray, Army Of Jesus, Iron Age and Modern Needs performing. Further benefits are in the works in the San Francisco Bay Area, Minneapolis and New York City. Anyone wishing to organize an benefit event around the country contact Ashley at smashlost@yahoo.com or Timmy Hefner at timmythetexasturd@gmail.com. Immediate Pay Pal donations should be sent to Timmy's email address until Jack is out of ICU.

Another fun way to benefit Jack: For a limited time, Profane Existence are donating a generous 30% of all pay pal and credit card sales from their awesome catalog of DIY hardcore and punk to help with Jack's Medical bills. More information at Profane Existence."

01/27/06: Tom Waits Fights for his Rights!
From Anti Records, a sublabel of Epitaph Records, comes this news that's surprisingly similar to 2005's "American Idol" controversy (in which the Fox TV program used a Dead Kennedys tune without permission):

Tom Waits has won a landmark legal victory in Spain, establishing his moral rights in a case brought against car manufacturer Volkswagen-Audi (VAESA) and a Spanish production company for adapting one of Waits' songs and impersonating his voice in a television commercial.

It is the first time that such moral rights - protecting the personality and reputation of writers and authors - have been established in a Spanish court, acknowledging an artist's voice as his creative work. The judgement, rendered by the Appeal Court of Barcelona, also recognised that VAESA and the production company, Tandem Company Guasch, had infringed the Intellectual Property Rights of both Waits and Hans Kusters Music, Waits' music publisher in Spain.

The commercial, for Audi cars, was originally screened in Spain in 2000. As well as having much the same melodic structure as the Tom Waits' song 'Innocent When You Dream', the commercial's music was arranged like the song and featured a Tom Waits' vocal impersonation.

At the time of making the commercial Tandem Campany Guasch had sought permission to use Waits' original version of 'Innocent When You Dream', a request he rejected. "Now they understand the words to the song better," says Waits. "It wasn't 'Innocent When You Scheme' it was 'Innocent When You Dream'."

Waits and Hans Kusters Music won an initial court judgement in March 2004. The case then went to the Appeal Court, ultimately resulting in this month's groundbreaking legal victory.

Tom Waits first learned about the commercial from fans when visiting Spain in the summer of 2000. Many believed it was Waits singing his own song on the commercial, even despite the fact he has always been adamant that his music will never be used for advertising purposes.

The judgement is the latest in a line of successful legal actions Waits has taken to prevent his music and image from being associated with commercial products. He has most recently filed suit against General Motors' Opel and the advertising agency McCann Erickson in Frankfurt, Germany, for producing and broadcasting a series of car commercials that used a perfect impersonation of Waits' singing voice. The commercials were produced in Germany and aired in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway during the late winter and early spring of last year. Among other claims, the suit charges the defendants with violating Waits' moral rights under German law.

01/24/06: Blowfly Burglarized!
Urgent! The Triple-X Fiends of Funk have been ripped off by some rapacious rats in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tom from the band gives us the skinny:

The following items were stolen from Blowfly's van while parked outside of the La Quinta Inn at 3100 Queen City blvd in Charlotte NC between 2:30 AM and 1 PM Saturday, January 21st. If you have any information regarding these items, please contact Tom Bowker at tom@blowflymusic.com If in Charlotte you can return the items with no questions asked to The Milestone club at 3400 tuckasegee rd.28208 The phone number at the milestone is: 704 398 0472. They also may be reached at neal@solidgoldempire.com

01/22/06: AK Press hosts Book Burning Comedy!
Our partners-in-audio-crime, AK Press, will be hosting its first ever Book Burning Comedy showcase on Friday February 3rd featuring, Will Franken, John Hoogasian, Phillip Watson, Samantha Chanse and hosted by Rusty Mahakian.

Will Franken was ranked as one of the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly's best comedians of 2005 and the New York Times says "What elevates Mr. Franken above your garden-variety comedian is an erudite wit and a highly developed sense of the absurd" This will be Will's first East Bay show after is Comedy Central Mainstage performance on January 30th. This is a unique opportunity to see a truly innovative performer for just $5.

John Hoogasian has performed alongside Louis CK, Lewis Black, Sarah Silverman, Dave Attell and Mitch Hedberg. There is no father to his style. Also performing are Phillip Watson, Samantha Chanse and hosted by Rusty Mahakian

This show was created in the spirit of "The Comedians of Comedy" in the hopes of getting people out to see comedy for under 10 dollars. The show is all-ages, wheelchair accessible and only 5 dollars with a full warehouse of books to browse and buy. February 3rd, Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. AK Press is located between San Pablo and MLK at 674-A 23rd Street in Oakland, CA 94612, If you have any questions call AK press at 510-208-1700.

01/07/06: Pansy Division Rules MySpace- Again!
That's right, Pansy Division has moved their my space page in order to put up songs and other band goodies, so if you're logged onto their original myspace page you'd better become friends with their new site since the old site's going to be ended soon.

It's all part of Pansy Division and Alternative Tentacles getting psyched up for the great new Greatest Hits cd+dvd "The Essential Pansy Division"- coming out on Alternative Tentacles momentarily!